Moldova’s government has ruled out reunification with Romania despite a surge in demands for the two countries to unite.

The prime minister, Pavel Filip, said Moldova’s place was as a sovereign state, independent of Romania. “Too much has been said about reunification, identity, language and I want to look at the concrete development of the country,” he told the Guardian.

“All those problems that are sentiment related should be left for better times.”

A pro-unification rally in Moldova’s capital, Chișinău, last month attended by 10,000 people, including the former Romanian president Traian Băsescu.

Romania’s parliament casted a symbolic vote for reunification and MPs said they would welcome any such move by Moldova. The events were timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Moldova joining the then kingdom of Greater Romania.

A former head of a tobacco company, Filip aspires to bring Moldova into the European Union. The former Soviet territory, the poorest country in Europe, lags far its behind neighbours – including Romania, which joined the EU in 2007. Nevertheless he predicted: “We will be together with Romania in the EU.”

His opposition to reunification is shared by a majority of Moldovans, although 32% support joining Romania, according to a recent poll.